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Originally posted by DaveT Love Parade Berlin gets cancelled because they can't cover costs and all that since the city makes them pay for everything including cleanup these days. I think they said cleanup costs them nearly $500,000 US the first year it was cancelled. They got corporate sponsorship for a couple years there and all but when they can't it just gets cancelled again. Heck, it wasn't in in Berlin in 2007 and 2008. It was in Essen in 2007 and then in Dortmund last year. Hopefully people understand why the organizers of LE are requiring $10 for entry this time around...cause it's prob either they do that or cancel the event, and we all don't want that to happen! I want to see semis in this year parade be using water-cooled sound systems like LP in Germany does.

Yeah, it's really hard for me to fathom...I was there in the middle of 1.2 million people at Love Parade Berlin in 2006 (my avatar is a picture from that night!), and it seemed like a phenomenal success, like it was back for good. In Germany, the organizers have always insisted that the parade (and daytime festival, as it's one and the same) be free for everyone.

If each person had contributed one Euro, then there would have been 1.2 million Euros for cleanup and then some. Of course, it was also very political...from what I understand many businesses and residents did not like the Love Parade due to traffic, congestion, and I'm sure many other reasons. So the organizers sucked it out of Berlin and moved up north to different cities through 2011, and now Berlin loses millions of tourism dollars as a result. It went on successfully for a couple more years, but the city of Bochum didn't think it could handle the crowd, so it was canceled for 2009 even as there was record attendance of 1.6 million just the year before in Dortmund.

So it is a delicate balance between the city, its people, businesses, and ironically, success can actually feed failure. That's why I think it's important for everyone to do their part to make sure LovEvolution continues to be a success...simple stuff like visit the festival and donate the price of a drink to hear hours of great music, use the trash cans, be nice to everyone, know when to say when, etc. ...I'm sure the vast majority of us are already on board.

It's also worthwhile pointing out the many benefits of LovEvolution in terms of tourism, city image, etc. Many businesses welcome those visiting LovEvolution with open arms since the people are friendly and fun to be around. I often book 2-3 hotel rooms there each year between me and my friends, do some sightseeing, shopping, and dining in addition to the parade, festival and afterparty. To me, it's a win-win combination that makes perfect sense, and I'd like to believe that LovEvolution is here to stay!

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Last edited by in2muzikk on Sep-28-2009 at 06:50